In UK law the copyright in a website’s design and code starts with the person who created it, not the person who paid for it. If a freelancer built your site, the freelancer owns that copyright. If an agency built it, the agency usually does, because its staff made it in the course of their employment. You only become the owner when the copyright is assigned to you in a document the designer signs. The domain name is a separate question again, and the hosting account is a third.
Who owns my website if a web designer built it?
No, you do not own it just because you paid: the designer is the first owner of the copyright unless something in writing says otherwise. Section 11(1) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 says the author of a work is the first owner of any copyright in it, and section 9(1) defines the author as the person who creates it. A website is not one work but a bundle of them. The code counts as a literary work, because section 3(1) lists a computer program as a literary work. Logos, graphics and photographs are artistic works under section 4.
The one exception in section 11 is employment. Under section 11(2), when an employee makes a work in the course of their job, the employer is the first owner, subject to any agreement to the contrary. Section 178 defines employment as a contract of service or apprenticeship. A business that hires a freelancer or an agency is a client, not an employer, so the exception does not help the client. When an agency’s own staff build your site, it is the agency that benefits from section 11(2), which is why the agency usually holds the copyright until it hands it over.
Who owns what on a typical small business website?
Up to 8 parts of a small website can each have a different owner, and a written contract is what lines them up. Here is the default position before any contract changes it.
| Part of the site | Who owns it by default | What puts it in your hands |
|---|---|---|
| Design, layout and custom code | The freelancer, or the agency whose staff made it | A written assignment of copyright, signed by them |
| Text you wrote yourself | You, as the author | Nothing: keep your own copies |
| Text the designer or a copywriter wrote | Whoever wrote it, or their employer | Include it in the written assignment |
| Photos you commissioned | The photographer | A signed assignment from the photographer, or at least a written licence that covers your website |
| Stock photos | The photographer or the stock library | Nothing gives you ownership: you get a licence, and it matters whose account bought it |
| WordPress, themes and plugins | Their own authors | A licence: WordPress is released under the GPL, and paid add-ons usually need a licence key for updates |
| Domain name | The registrant on the register | Being the registrant yourself, in your own name |
| Hosting account | Whoever signed up with the host | An account in your name, or a written handover plan |
Does paying a web designer in full transfer the copyright to me?
No. Payment alone does not transfer copyright; a signed written assignment does. Section 90(3) says an assignment of copyright is not effective unless it is in writing signed by or on behalf of the assignor, which is the designer or agency. GOV.UK’s guidance on licensing and selling copyright puts it the same way: a sale or transfer needs a written, signed document, sometimes called an assignment. An email saying “it’s all yours” is a weak foundation; a clause in a signed contract is a strong one.
The assignment can be signed before a single page exists. Section 91 covers future copyright: if the prospective owner signs an agreement assigning copyright in work not yet made, the copyright vests in the assignee when the work comes into existence. That is why a good web design contract deals with ownership at the start rather than at handover. Many contracts make the assignment take effect on full payment, which is fair to both sides.
Without an assignment, the designer keeps the copyright and you are left relying on permission to use the site, with nothing written down about how far that permission goes. Section 90(4) adds a further twist: a licence granted by a copyright owner binds whoever the copyright later passes to, with a narrow exception for a good faith buyer who did not know about it. Arguing about the scope of an unwritten licence with a designer, or with whoever bought their business, is the situation the contract exists to prevent.
Who owns website domains?
The registrant owns the right to use a domain, so whoever’s name is on the registration controls it, not whoever paid for the website. For .uk names, Nominet’s Definitions and Interpretation document describes the registrant as the person recorded on the register as the one Nominet has a contract with for that domain, and who therefore controls it. Its updated registrant terms, which take effect on 9 February 2027, describe the registrar as acting on behalf of the registrant, and say that if a registrant lets someone else use the domain, the registrant remains the registrant of record.
The trap is a designer who registers your domain under their own name or their agency’s account “to save you the hassle”. Legally you are then the licensee of your own business name. If the relationship sours, the registrant is the one who can move it, renew it or let it lapse. Our guide to what a domain name costs in the UK covers what happens when a .uk name expires and is not renewed.
How do you determine who owns a website?
Start with 2 checks: who is the registrant of the domain, and whose account the hosting sits in. Copyright has no public register in the UK, so for the design and code the answer is whatever your contract says, and if there is no contract, the default rule in section 11.
- The domain. Nominet’s free domain lookup tool returns registration data for .uk names and for any other extension that publishes it through RDAP. Nominet’s own support page points people to it to find out who their registrar is (The UK Domain). Then log in at the registrar and check the registrant name on the account. For a .uk name you can also check it in your Nominet Online Services account, which uses the admin contact email address.
- The hosting. Ask for the name on the hosting account and who receives the invoices. If the agency pays the host and bills you, the hosting is theirs, even if the site on it is meant to be yours.
- The content management system. Check you have your own administrator login, not a lower editor role on an account someone else controls.
- The paperwork. Look for an assignment clause in the contract, quote or terms you accepted. If there is none, ask for a short signed assignment now, while relations are good.
Does a web hosting agreement transfer ownership of my website?
No. A hosting agreement is a contract for server space between the host and whoever signed up, and it says nothing about who owns the copyright in the site. Hosting and the domain are also separate: Nominet confirms you do not have to host your website with the company you registered your domain name with (The UK Domain). That separation helps you. If the domain and the copyright are yours, you can move the files to a new host and point the domain at it. If the hosting account is the agency’s, the contract should say they will hand over a full copy of the files and database when you ask. Our UK hosting guide explains what hosting itself costs.
How do I get my domain transferred into my name?
£10 plus VAT is Nominet’s fee for a .uk registrant transfer, if your registrar cannot do it for you. Nominet calls changing the name on a domain a Registrant Transfer. Your registrar may be able to do it; if not, the current registrant starts it in their Nominet Online Services account, enters the new registrant’s email address, and the new registrant then has 5 days to accept before the request times out (The UK Domain, run by Nominet, checked October 2026). Note that the current registrant has to start it, which is exactly why the domain should be in your name from day one. Moving the domain to a different registrar while keeping the same registrant is a different process.
Who owns the photos and stock images on my website?
No, you rarely own them: the photographer owns commissioned photos unless they assign them, and stock images stay with the photographer or library. A photograph is an artistic work under section 4, and the photographer is its author under section 9(1), so section 11 gives them first ownership even when you paid for the shoot. Get a signed assignment, or at least a written licence that covers your website and marketing.
Stock images are licensed, never owned, and the licence is tied to the buyer. Shutterstock’s terms, for example, describe the standard account as a single seat licence, define its licences as non-transferable except as the terms allow, and say clients may only receive licensed content as part of a finished piece of work. If your designer bought the images on their account, ask which images they are and keep a record of the licence, because you may be asked to prove it.
WordPress itself is released under the GPLv2 or later, and WordPress takes the view that themes and plugins inherit that licence, while acknowledging some legal grey area (WordPress.org). The practical issue with paid themes and plugins is usually the licence key that unlocks updates and support: ask whose account it sits in and what happens to updates if you part ways with the designer.
What should a website design agreement include?
9 clauses at minimum, in a document both of you sign. This checklist works for a freelancer contract, an agency agreement or a simple signed quote with terms attached.
- Assignment of copyright. The designer assigns copyright in the design, code, graphics and copy they create for you, taking effect on full payment, signed by them as section 90(3) requires.
- Third-party items listed. A schedule of every theme, plugin, font and stock image used, with the licence for each and whose account holds it.
- Deliverables. The number of pages, features, rounds of changes and the delivery date, so “finished” means the same thing to both of you.
- Price and payment stages. The fixed price, the deposit, and what triggers each payment.
- Domain in your name. The domain is registered with you as registrant, or transferred to you within an agreed time.
- Login handover. Administrator access to the website, the registrar account, hosting, analytics and any email service, handed over at launch.
- Hosting. Whose account it is, what it costs, and a promise to supply a full copy of the files and database on request.
- Support term. How long fixes are included after launch, and the cost of ongoing support after that.
- Termination. What happens if either side ends the work early: what you pay for, what you receive, and how quickly files and logins come back to you.
If you are comparing who to hire, our guide on how to choose a web development agency in the UK covers the other questions worth asking before you sign.
Do I own my website if you build it?
Yes. When we build a site, the design, code, domain and content are all yours outright, and the domain should be registered in your name, never ours. The parts no web designer can give away, such as WordPress itself, plugins and stock image licences, remain licensed rather than owned, and we will tell you what they are. Our prices are fixed before we start: the Starter package is £495 for up to 5 pages in about 7 days, and the Business package is £1,495 for up to 15 pages in 2 to 3 weeks. Whoever you hire, ask to see the ownership position in writing before you pay a deposit. If you want to talk through a build, or untangle a site someone else holds the keys to, get in touch.
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